Headstock for roll lathes or the like



Oct. 10, 1950 w. B. HACKETT 2,524,791

HEADSTOCK FOR ROLL LATHES OR THE LIKE Filed April 15, 1947 Fig.1.

N a N QH n N INVENTOR lV/W/SW? 15. Ha Cke/f Patented Oct. 10, 1950 HEADSTOCK FOR ROLL LATHES OR THE LIKE William B. Hackett, Salem, Ohio, assignor to Blaw-Knox Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of New Jersey Application April 15, 1947, Serial No. 741,521

Claims.

This invention relates to a lathe headstock and, in particular, to a headstock for large, heavy-duty lathes such as roll lathes.

Lathe headstocks suitable for roll lathes, as constructed heretofore, have been bulky, heavy and costly. It is an object of my invention to provide a headstock of simple, rugged construction which is extremely compact and requires a minimum of parts so that it may be manufactured at a relatively low cost, may be easily maintained and is reliable, smooth and powerful in operation. In a preferred embodiment, the headstock of my invention includes a housing adapted to be mounted on the bed rails of a lathe, with a center-pin barrel seated therein and extending longitudinally therethrough. A face plate is journaled on one end of the barrel and has a gear thereon. A pinion shaft journaled in the housing directly below and parallel to the barrel has a pinion meshing with the faceplate gear. A sleeve journaled on the barrel is geared to the pinion shaft and is driven by a motor mounted on the housing.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from the following detailed description which refers to the accompanying drawings illustrating the present preferred embodiment, In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a central, vertical, longitudinal section through the headstock of my invention; and

Figure 2 is a transverse section therethrough taken along the plane of line II-II of Figure 1.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the headstock of my invention is mounted in and enclosed by a housing It adapted to be secured to the bed rails II of a lathe. As shown in Figure 2, the housing comprises two parts, viz., an upper portion l2 and a lower portion l3 shaped to fit between the bed rails I l and forming the bottom of the housing. The upper portion l2 includes side walls I4, end walls I5 and top [6 of the housing. The housing also includes an intermediatecross wall I! parallel to the end walls. A boss I8 is formed on the wall ll and has a tapered bore therethrough. A center-pin barrel l9 extends longitudinally through the upper portion l2 of the housing. The barrel has a tapered portion 29 adapted to seat in the bore in the boss [8. The barrel has a bore therethrough which is tapered at one end to receive a deadcenter pin 2|. The barrel is secured in the housing by a nut 22 threaded on the reduced outer end thereof. It will be apparent that the tapered portion of the barrel may be firmly seated in the tapered bore through the boss l8 by turning down the nut 22.

A face plate 23 having driving lugs 23a is journaled on the inner end of the barrel l9 on bearings 24 and 25. The inner end wall l5 of the housing is bored to accommodate the face plate and a sealing ring 26 is fitted in the edge of the bore to prevent the entry of dirt or other foreign matter into the interior of the housing. The face plate is held in position on the barrel l9 by a nut or keeper ring 2? turned. on the threaded inner end of the barrel. A gear 28 is formed as an extension of the face plate for driving the latter and is accommodated in the space between the intermediate cross wall I! and the inner end wall l5.

A pinion shaft 29 is journaled in bearings 30 and 3| seated in the outer end wall l5 and the intermediate cross wall ll, respectively. The axis of the shaft 29 lies in the horizontal plane of division between the upper and lower portions [2 and [3 of the housing H]. A pinion 32 formed on the inn-er end of the shaft 29 meshes with the gear 28. A quill or sleeve 33 is journaled on the barrel I9 by means of bearings 34 and 35. A pinion 36 formed in the sleeve meshes with a gear 37 on the shaft 29. A gear 38 keyed on the sleeve 33 meshes with a gear 39 on the shaft 29. These gears are constantly in mesh. The gears 31 and 39 are rotatable on the shaft 29 and have clutch teeth on their adjacent faces adapted to cooperate with a movable clutch ring 40 slidable on the shaft 29 and keyed thereto. A clutch-shifting lever 4| is secured to a cross shaft 42 journaled in the side Walls M of the housing. A hand lever 43 is secured to one end of the shaft for operating the shift lever. By this arrangement, the pinion shaft 29 may be driven either through the gears 38 and 39 for high speed or through pinion 3% and gear 31 for low speed.

A motor Mi is mounted on the top of the housing it with its axis vertical. The drive shaft of the motor extends downwardly through an opening 415 in the housing and is provided with a spiral bevel 101111101146. This pinion meshes with a spiral bevel gear ll secured to one end of the sleeve 33. As shown in Figure 2, the motor is symmetrically mounted on the housing, i. e., its axis lies in the vertical plane containing the axes of the barrel I9 and the shaft 29.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the invention provides a lathe headstock having numerous advantages over those known heretofore. In the first place, my construction requires only two principal axes of rotation and these are located in a central, vertical plane through the housing. The axes, of course, are those of the barre] I9 and shaft 29. The lower portion of the housing being of bowl shape and fitting between the bed rails l l reduces the overall height of the headstock. As shown in the drawings, the depending portion of the housing accommodates the gears and pinion on the lower shaft 29. My headstock construction requires a minimum of parts and the general arrangement is very simple and extremely compact. The size and weight of the headstock are thus reduced and the cost is brought down accordingly. The use of a vertical motor is also advantageous in providing a symmetrical construction characterized by simplicity and economy. The spiral bevel gear for driving the sleeve provides a substantial speed reduction and results in smooth, noiseless operation. Additional speed reductions are effected between the sleeve and pinion shaft and between the pinion shaft and face plate. For higher operating speeds, however, an increase in the speed of the shaft over that of the sleeve may be obtained by shifting the clutch ring to cause it to engage the gear 39.

Although I have illustrated and described but a preferred embodiment of theinvention, it will be recognized that changes in the construction disclosed may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1'. A heavy duty lathe headstock having two principal axes of rotation, comprising a housing, a stationary center-pin barrel extending through said housing and secured therein and defining one of said axes, a face plate journaled on one end of said. barrel having a driving gear thereon, a pinion shaft in said housing parallel to said barrel, said pinion shaft defining the other of said axes, a pinion on said shaft meshing with said driving gear, a sleeve rotatably supported by and on said barrel, said sleeve being geared to said pinion shaft, and means for driving said sleeve, whereby said face plate is rotated.

2. A heavy duty lathe headstock having two principal axes of rotation, comprising a housing, a stationary center-pin barrel extending through said housing and secured therein, a face plate journaled on one end of said barrel having a driving gear thereon, a pinion shaft in said housing parallel to said barrel, a plurality of gears and a pinion on said pinion shaft, said pinion being in meshing engagement with said driving gear, a sleeve rotatably supported by and on said barrel, a plurality of gears on said sleeve adapted to be in constant and respective meshing engagement with said plurality of gears on said pinion shaft, a clutch adapted to engage respective gears of said plurality of gears on said pinion shaft to turn it, and means for driving said sleeve, whereby said face plate is rotated at a preselected rate of rotation.

3. A heavy duty lathe headstock having two principal axes of rotation, comprising a housing, a stationary center-pin barrel extending through said housing and secured therein, a face plate journaled on one end of said barrel having a driving gear thereon, a pinion shaft in said housing parallel to said barrel, said pinion shaft being disposed substantially directly below said barrel, a plura ity of gears and a pinion on said pinion shaft, said pinion being in meshing engagement with said driving gear, a sleeve rotatably supported by and on said barrel, a plurality of gears on said sleeve adapted to be in constant and respective meshing engagement with said plurality of gears on said pinion shaft, a further gear on said sleeve, said sleeve being substantially of a.

length equal to the aggregate axial dimension of said plurality of gears and said further gear thereon, a clutch on said pinion shaft to engage said pinion shaft with one of said plurality of gears thereon, and direct means for driving said sleeve by engagement with said further gear) whereby a substantial portion of said housing can be accommodated between the bed rails of said heavy duty lathe.

4. A heavy duty lathe headstock having two principal axes of rotation comprising a housing having an upper portion and a lower portion, a stationary center-pin barrel extending through said housing and secured therein, a face plate journaled, on one end of said barrel at one end of said housing and having a driving gear thereon, a pinion shaft in said housing parallel to said barrel, said pinion shaft being disposed substantially directly below said barrel and having its axis substantially in the plane of separation between said upper portion and saidlower portion of said housing, a plurality of gears in a pinion on said pinion shaft, said pinion being in meshing engagement with said driving gear, a sleeve rotatably supported by and on said barrel, a plurality of gears on said sleeve adapted to be in constant and respective meshing engagement with said plurality of gears on said pinion shaft, a clutch adapted to engage respective gears of said plurality of gears on said pinion shaft to turn it, and direct means for driving said sleeve, whereby the lower portion of said housing can be accommodated between the bed rails of said heavy duty lathe and said pinion shaft assembled therewith with relative ease.

5. A heavy duty rail headstock having two principal axes of rotation comprising a housing, a stationary center-pin barrel extending through said housing and secured therein, a face plate journaled on one end of said barrel at one end of said housing and having a driving ear thereon, a pinion shaft in said housing parallel to said barrel, said pinion shaft being disposed substantially directly below said barrel, two driven gears of differing diameters and a pinion on said pinion shaft, said driven gears being free to rotate on said shaft, said pinion being in meshing engagement with said driving gear, a sleeve rotatably supported by and on said barrel,

two driving gears and amotor gear on said sleeve in fixed relation thereto, said driving gears adapted to be in constant and meshing engagement with said driven gears on said pin-ion shaft, a clutch in sliding keyed relation to said pinion shaft intermediate said driven gears, said clutch being adapted to selectively engage one of said driven gears to turn said pinion shaft, and a motor disposed on top of said housing with its shaft in a substantially vertical position, a driving pinion on the said shaft, said driving pinion being in meshing engagement with said motor gear, whereby a compact, positive action and substantially noiseless headstock is provided for. a heavy duty lathe between the bed rails of which a substantial portion of said housing can be accommodated.

WILLIAM B. HACKETT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this. patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 919,986 Whitney Apr, 27, 1909 1,070,990 Schellenbach Aug. 19 1913 1,563,723 Caton Dec. 1, 1925 1,863,202 Krohn June 14, 1932 

